So, I have finally made a start on ‘sponsored’ books, in other words books sent to me by the author for free in return for an honest review. It was difficult to choose which one to begin with, but I ultimately settled on Naliyah, as I was taken by the Goodreads synopsis, and would act as a nice departure from the type of books I normally read.
I was sent the book in PDF format, which accounts for why it took me two weeks to read it despite only being 189 pages long. I had to read parts of it from the computer, and on my mobile phone, neither of which are my preferred method of reading.
But it was an entertaining read, and I certainly recommend it if you like a fast-paced fantasy YA novel with a little bit of romance.
Pages: 189
Published: 1st October 2014
Genre: Fantasy
What if a vampire isn’t really a vampire?
Lenora Scheid can tell you much of human nature. After more than a century of traveling from warzone to warzone, she has experienced more than she can handle of mankind’s thirst for blood and power…she cannot, however, tell you what she is.
Not exactly human, but not precisely vampire either, Lenora’s whole life has been spent under the watchful eye of her father. With only her dreams of a mysterious blue‐eyed man as company, she has little choice but to follow her father across the world despite his refusal to help her understand her true nature.
As Lenora reaches the end of her tolerance with their life of travel and death, she comes face to face with her blue‐eyed man and everything changes. Can this man save her from a life of brutality? Or will the secrets kept from her for so long destroy them both?
The first thing that stands out about Naliyah is its originality. There are so many interesting and imaginative ideas presented in the novel, and it offers a pretty unique fantastical element.
The writing and the plot become more mature as it goes on, and there are plenty of surprising twists. What on the face of it seems like a curious coming-of-age story at the beginning turns into a powerful and occasionally brutal one very quickly, after narrator and main character Lenora learns her true nature.
Lenora is a very interesting character. There is an innocence about her that makes her likeable right from the beginning. She also develops greatly as a character as the story goes on, and this is handled well despite events moving at a fast pace. She is also compassionate, but willing to accept the nature of her condition.
Her relationship with Michael develops a bit too quickly for my liking, and I also don’t think that his background is fully explored. Lenora’s father is held up to be an evil character, but his intentions are not made clear until towards the end, and even then there are still some doubts over his true motives.
But one of the best things about Naliyah is that it is different. Sure, it contains some standard romance, but otherwise the ideas and the use of various settings to tell an original story makes it unlike most other books in the genre.
All in all, I liked the book. It moves in some surprising directions, and the fantasy element was really innovative. It is the first in a series (The Vetala Chronicles), so it will be interesting to see what path the next one takes.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐
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